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Ikea'scatalogis printed in198 millioncopies andlooks almost the samein 27 languages​​andin 38 countries. With one big exception. In the Saudi Arabian version of the catalog almost all women have been erased, Swedish newspaper Metro said.

Sweden's minister of trade Ewa Björling said the retouched images are a "sad example" of women oppression.

"Womencan not be retouchawayin reality.IfSaudiArabia does not allowwomento appear[in public] or work, they loseabouthalftheir intellectual capital", she told Metro.

"These picturesissadexample that showsthat thereis a longway to goin terms of equalitybetween men and womenin Saudi Arabia".

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are defined by Islam and tribal customs. Human Rights Watch said in a report that the Saudi guardianship system continues to treat women as minors. Under this discriminatory system, girls and women of all ages are forbidden from traveling, studying, or working without permission from their male guardians.

Although the edited catalogue was produced by a third-party franchise, it is highly unlikely no one at Ikea was aware of the requested edits.

"We should have reacted and realised that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalogue is in conflict with the Ikea group values'', Ikea's official statement read.